The security officer at a shopping mall was trying to take the temperature of a visitor. He had to speak loudly so that the visitor could hear him through the mask.

But it sparked an ugly confrontation, with the man berating the guard in public because he thought he was being yelled at.

The incident last December was among several reports that Mr Francis Chng, a director of security company Horus I, received from the roughly 200 security officers the firm hires.

He added that many incidents occurred when security officers tried to enforce safe management measures amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

His guards were not the only ones subjected to abuse. A recent survey of 1,002 security officers found that it has become increasingly common for them to be subjected to some form of abuse, with the pandemic being blamed for increased tensions.

Conducted between September and November last year, the survey found that two in five security officers were exposed to some form of abuse in their course of work.

A previous survey of 707 officers conducted between January and February last year found that about one in three was abused on the job.

Mr Chng noted that officers who work at condominiums or shopping malls, where they come into contact with more people, tend to be abused more than those who are deployed at warehouses.

"But we are lucky to have understanding clients who listen to both sides of the story and don't immediately blame the officers when there is a misunderstanding," he added.

Commenting on the survey results released yesterday, Union of Security Employees (USE) executive secretary Steve Tan said security officers were most commonly subjected to verbal abuse.

"Visitors to various properties were asked to comply with safe management measures, and the person asking them to do it was the security officer," said Mr Tan, who added that officers are also under pressure from clients to ensure that safe management rules are being followed.

Officers were approached to do the survey at USE's Customer Service Centre while collecting their security officer identity cards, which are issued after they renew their licence every five years.

The respondents said the most common source of abuse was from the public, followed by visitors and residents.

To help combat such incidents, USE will launch an app for officers to report abuse and work-related grievances to its mediation service. This will be done by the third quarter of this year.

But there was also an upside to the survey. Eight out of 10 security officers said they were satisfied with their job, and two-thirds said they were confident that they would not lose their job.

The distribution of the officers' pay remained largely consistent compared with six months ago, with the median wage of all ranks measuring above the Progressive Wage Model (PWM).

Under the PWM, for last year, the lowest-ranking security officer must be paid a basic wage of at least $1,250, while those in the next rank of senior security officer must be paid at least $1,420.

A senior security supervisor must be paid at least $1,820.

The PWM came into effect in September 2016 and is a licensing requirement for all security agencies. It covers all Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

COVID-19 STRESS

MR STEVE TAN,

executive secretary of the Union of Security Employees.